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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/23995396">Guardian’s Day</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/CharmmyColour/pseuds/CharmmyColour'>CharmmyColour</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>Lonely Together [2]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Lilo &amp; Stitch (2002)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Canon Compliant, Family Bonding, Family Fluff, Fluff and Humor, Gen, Happens during The Series, Happy, Same universe than Lonely Together, Somewhere between Cannonball and Yapper</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-05-04</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-05-04</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-02 21:16:20</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>General Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>5,503</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/23995396</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/CharmmyColour/pseuds/CharmmyColour</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>When Mother's Day comes along, Lilo realizes her family can't celebrate it anymore. However, not all families are the same, and Lilo decides to show to the people that care for her that love is what keeps her ohana together.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Cobra Bubbles &amp; Lilo Pelekai, David Kawena/Nani Pelekai (mentioned), Lilo Pelekai &amp; Jumba Jookiba, Lilo Pelekai &amp; Nani Pelekai, Lilo Pelekai &amp; Stitch | Experiment 626, Lilo Pelekai &amp; Wendy Pleakley</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>Lonely Together [2]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/series/1730134</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>18</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>55</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>Guardian’s Day</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>This fic was inspired by a thread on Tumblr created by Galahadwilder, and takes the ideas provided by Bisexualbaker, Digitalmagpie, Araalia, JCMorrigan and V01db1ad3.</p><p>Proof-reading and editing by JCMorrigan.</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>“So, let me get this straight,” Nani said, leaning her back against the wall and frowning at her little sister. “You reserved a tour for David and me this evening without telling me, and he’s already waiting for me in the car.”</p><p>“Yes.” Lilo nodded.</p><p>“...and it absolutely can’t be cancelled AND you promised David I would be there.”</p><p>“Exactly!” The little Hawaiian girl smiled. “So you should hurry up, or you’ll miss it!”</p><p>“But Lilo!” Nani was exasperated. She had no time to deal with that “I can’t go out on a date with David today. I have a thousand things to do! We need groceries, I have to fix the sink, it’s also laundry day and I…”</p><p>“Don’t worry, Nani!” a high-pitched voice interrupted. Pleakley, who was showing his most innocent smile alongside Jumba and Stitch, was already putting an apron over his dress. “I did all the laundry already and I’ll take care of the groceries for you.”</p><p>“And evil genius is repairing Earth water appliance in minutes,” Jumba added. Nani shot him an accusing glare. “Promise not to add laser…today.”</p><p>“Are you gonna tell me what is going on?” The woman huffed. The “innocent smile” act always meant there was something they were trying to hide from her.</p><p>“Nothing!” Lilo lied. Her big sister sighed, guessing that if Lilo was involved, it couldn’t be THAT bad. Not ending-all-life-in-the universe bad, at least. Nani was thinking on what to reply when the little hands of her sister pushed her towards the door and she almost lost her balance.</p><p>“Hurry up, you have to go! Come on, come on, come on!” Lilo pressed.</p><p>“Ugh, fine,” Nani resigned herself, taking her purse from the living room. “BUT you know the rules! I’m onto you!” She pointed her finger to every member of the house, one by one.</p><p>“I stick with Stitch,” Lilo recited.</p><p>“I am to guard Lilo as if she were being delicate flower,” Jumba followed.</p><p>“Dog food is for dogs, not for little girls,” Pleakley added.</p><p>“No cousins in house,” Stitch ended, grinning.</p><p>Nani fired one last death glare to them before heading to the buggy, where David was already waiting for her and waving his hand with a big smile on his face. Oh well; she’d had a rough week, and as much as the aliens were kind of <em>lolo</em> to be around, they had proven they were able to babysit and do some chores. A date with David seemed like fun, and Nani thought she deserved that after all. She had worked overtime almost every day for the whole month, and sometimes, she hadn’t even been able to came home for dinner. Her <em>ohana</em> would be fine for a few hours without her.</p><p>Lilo peered at her sister through the windows and confirmed she was leaving in the car before turning around to face the other three aliens on the living room.</p><p>“It worked!” she proclaimed. “Now we can keep going with the plan.”</p><p>“Can little girl be explaining again why Jumba is not doing genius work today?” The big alien inquired, probably more softly than he wanted. It was hard to get irritated with Lilo, even if she made him lose valuable research time.</p><p>“Because today is Big Sister’s Day and we have to buy Nani a gift!” the girl explained while she rescued a pillow from Stitch, who was tearing it apart. The blue experiment growled, but didn’t try to claim the fluffy prey back.</p><p>“But Lilo,” Pleakley added, a little worried, his fingers knotted in front of him. “According to my human studies, there’s no such thing as Big Sister’s Day.”</p><p>“I know. That’s why I’m making the day myself,” Lilo said. “Nani is always working and doing all kinds of things and she doesn’t even have a day for her. So I decided I’ll make one! It’s a great idea, right?”</p><p>“<em>Ih</em>!” Stitch barked, grinning. Jumba and Pleakley looked at each other, coming to a silent agreement to not protest the plan. Well, if it was important to Lilo…</p><p>A knock on the door distracted them, and they all turned their heads at once. “He’s here!” Lilo exclaimed, and she ran to the door to open it.</p><p>As Pleakley wasn’t in disguise at the moment, he panicked and yelped, hiding behind Jumba. Jumba himself didn’t bother to move. Stitch raised his ears in anticipation, and made an approving sound when a big black figure appeared at the door.</p><p>“Lilo,” Cobra Bubbles stated with a blank expression. “You called.”</p><p>“Yeah; we were waiting for you.” The girl smiled.</p><p>“What is government man doing here?” Jumba whispered to Pleakley, who was peeking out from behind him. Neither of them liked Cobra much, but they tried to be polite around him. Not only because Lilo liked him, but because they were scared of the agent.</p><p>Cobra directed his gaze to the aliens, his neck making a cracking sound as he did, and both of them audibly gulped. Stitch, however, was excited to see him around. He found Cobra so cool, even if he had thrown a book at his head the first time they had met.</p><p>“The car is waiting,” The agent said gently to Lilo, kneeling to her height. “Are you sure your sister doesn’t suspect anything?”</p><p>“Absolutely,” Lilo grinned, sure of herself. Cobra smiled faintly, knowing how much of a lie that was.</p><p>Getting on his feet again, the agent invited the girl to his car with a gesture, and both she and Stitch ran to it filled with excitement. Cobra followed them without closing the door, knowing the two other aliens would soon join them. He was kind of reluctant to trust a former member of the Galactic Alliance and a mad scientist who could barely keep his love for chaos in check, but so far, they had been behaving on the planet. Besides, they seemed to be good for the Pelekais, and Cobra was there to support families, after all.</p><p>The trip to the department store was uneventful, if you don’t consider driving around with aliens arguing in your back seats a noteworthy event. Parking in the huge lot owned by MART was easy, and the first one to run directly to the building was Stitch, putting on his usual dog act. He scared a family on his way there, and Cobra wondered if the store would end banning dogs from the building altogether.</p><p>“Awesome!” Lilo bounced to the shopping carts and climbed on the back side of one, hanging on the bar happily. As Lilo was too small to actually move it anywhere, it was Cobra who pulled the cart from the saving spot as the girl explained her plan; “So we promised Nani we would shop for groceries too, so Pleakley and Jumba, you have to go to get the food, okay? Stitch, Bubbles, and I will get her present!”</p><p>“Lilo, I don’t know; I’ve never gone shopping with, well…” Pleakley mused, getting closer to her and trying to hide his mouth from Jumba with one hand as he pointed at him with the other. “...him.”</p><p>Jumba rolled his eyes and gave Pleakley a soft push on the back. “Come on, not making little girl repeat. Bossy noodle can whine on the trip back,” the scientist teased, already taking a shopping cart of his own and going his merry way.</p><p>“HEY!” Pleakley protested, hurrying behind his roommate. “I do NOT whine! Wait for me!”</p><p>Lilo watched the aliens leave and, without stepping down from the cart, raised her head to look at Cobra. The agent couldn’t help but smile back at the little girl as they started roaming one of the aisles. Lilo liked to hang on the back of the shopping cart, but Stitch preferred to travel inside the kid’s trolley in it. He didn’t wait for anyone to invite him to do so before climbing into the little chair and looking everywhere like an excited puppy.</p><p>“What do you think Nani would like?” Lilo asked him.</p><p>“Hmmm…” the blue alien pondered a moment. He saw an aisle with gardening tools with a sign announcing a hedge trimmer to take care of bushes. “Uuuuuuuuh! That!” he pointed at it, doing excited little jumps “<em>Miki miki</em>!”</p><p>“Not today, Stitch. We are here for Nani,” Lilo reminded him, making the experiment cross his arms and sitting down muttering an offended “<em>Choota</em>.”</p><p>“Don't worry; we’ll buy a hedge trimmer for you another day. It’s technically not a chainsaw,” the girl added. “We can use it to be surgeons!” Stitch made an approving sound at the suggestion, grinning mischievously.</p><p>“Lilo, surgeons don’t use hedge trimmers on their procedures,” Cobra pointed out.</p><p>“Well, maybe they should. What if an army of angry cursed mummies attacks them while they’re working?” the little girl asked, like it was a very real and legitimate concern. She looked at the agent and her expression became more mellow. “Thanks again for coming with us. Jumba and Pleakley are great, but they’re terrible at gifts. And I like having you around. Like, a lot. It's a shame you’re always so busy.”</p><p>“Sorry about that,” Cobra replied, getting into another aisle more appropriate for finding a present. “There’re lots of families that need my help, Lilo. Families like yours.”</p><p>“Don’t worry; I know you have to work, like Nani.” The girl paused a moment. “You have to help them, like you helped us. And now we’re a bigger <em>ohana</em>, and we’re happy, and I won’t have to go away, right?”</p><p>“Of course not,” Cobra quickly reassured her, fondling her hair with his big hand. He had a soft spot for kids, and Lilo was an incredible child. That was why he was with Social Services, after all: to help children like her. The agent decided to change the topic because he was getting unnerved by Stitch smirking directly at him. “We should be able to find something your sister would like in this section.”</p><p>“Let me see…” Lilo jumped from the shopping cart and ran to the tall shelves that seemed never to end, Stitch joining her quickly. The girl checked the assorted items being sold. “A mug? Nani never has time for coffee. Aromatized body wash? Ewwww, like her perfume doesn’t reek enough. What about a pretty candle?”</p><p>“<em>Naga</em>,” Stitch hissed.</p><p>“You’re right; no one wants a fire hazard in their home. Hmmm…”</p><p>All of a sudden, a loud cacophony of sounds started banging at the other side of the store. Cobra, Lilo, and Stitch raised their heads at the same time, surprised by a series of loud noises and screams that were definitely too familiar to them. As the two step-siblings looked at each other confused, Cobra raised his eyebrow, ready to deal with the situation. Had he expected a trip to a department store with three aliens would be without any surprise?</p><p>“Wait here,” the agent urged Lilo over his shoulder before heading to the root of the noise.</p><p>Cobra didn’t know exactly what to expect, but it surely wasn’t a mad scientist using the shopping cart like a scooter. Jumba had discovered he could ride the thing after pushing it, and was now traveling around the aisles at a dangerously high speed, knocking everything over on his way. Pleakley was running after him with his arms on the air, panicking hard.</p><p>“Jumba! Jumba! Come back here! The groceries! JUMBA!” the green alien cried, trying to stop his chaotic roommate.</p><p>It was hard to determine what was louder: the items crashing on the floor, the high-pitched screams of Pleakley, or the maniac laugh of Jumba, who was having the time of his life. Cobra sighed and tried to quickly analyze the situation at hand. There had to be a way to stop the aliens before people would start reacting…</p><p>It turns out a classic pile of cans always does the job quickly, albeit also loudly and messily. When Jumba crashed into the food pyramid and ended up buried in cans, Pleakley could only gasp dramatically and try to cover himself. The slim alien looked about to have a meltdown when his roommate raised his head up from between the cans and started laughing like it was the best day ever.</p><p>“Jumba, thank goodness you’re okay,” Pleakley exhaled. But his relieved tone became angry almost immediately; “What were you THINKING? You don’t use the cart like that! It’s dangerous! You ruined all the shopping and this perfectly-structured sacrifice of cans!” he yelled, pointing at the mess around them.</p><p>Cobra, who was trying to not think about why the hell Pleakley thought humans were offering sacrifices of cans to anyone, counted the people around him who had seen the accident. There were at least a dozen people watching the extravagant duo, all of them obviously wide-eyed with surprise. The agent resolved he had to intervene before security showed up.</p><p>He approached the aliens, who didn’t notice his presence until he was right next to them, hands on his hips and looking down. Pleakley and Jumba went silent at the same time when they realized what had they done and who was there with them, and slowly turned their heads to face the agent. The apologetic grin both tried to come up with didn’t impress Cobra in the slightest.</p><p>“Uh, eh… we found the beans,” Pleakley offered sheepishly, taking one of the cans from the floor.</p><p>Cobra frowned at them. It would be a long talk.</p><p>When the three of them returned to the entrance of the store were the cashiers were, an hour had already passed. Jumba and Pleakley watched the floor as they walked, as the lecture they had received from Cobra had been nothing short of intimidating, even if the agent had not actually been that harsh with them. Not wanting to leave the aliens alone, Cobra had decided to escort them during their grocery shopping, making sure they didn't catch anyone’s attention.</p><p>Stitch had checked with them to confirm everything was going well, and Cobra had told him he and Lilo could keep shopping for the gift, as Cobra needed to control their “uncles.” They agreed to meet by the cashiers when they were done to ring up the products, and Stitch was delighted with the freedom. Cobra knew the blue experiment wasn’t exactly an example of good manners, but he was very responsible when it came to Lilo, and he would make sure the girl was safe at all times. Lilo was not a patient child anyway, and she had probably already started wandering around the store the minute Cobra had left her alone.</p><p>“Hey!” Lilo waved at them, glowing with happiness. In her shopping cart, there was a single big cloth bag with seemingly more than one item inside. Stitch, who was the one pushing the cart around, barked. One of the nearly cashiers looked very disconcerted.</p><p>“Lilo, how did the operation go?” Cobra asked her, kneeling to her level.</p><p>“It was great! We found tons of things,” the girl exclaimed. Stitch grinned.</p><p>“More than one?” Pleakley tilted his head. “How many presents do we need?”</p><p>“Bigger girl is not deserving many. Is being really scary,” Jumba commented. Pleakley hit him with his elbow.</p><p>“We love Nani and don’t find her scary at all!” the green alien corrected, obviously lying. Jumba looked at him and grumbled, but didn’t protest.</p><p>“Don’t worry, I also think Nani can be scary,” Lilo added, which, in turn, made Jumba hit Pleakley with his own elbow and grin. “But she’s my sister, and it’s Big Sister’s Day, so I have to get her a gift.”</p><p>“You are a good child, Lilo,” Cobra said, standing on his feet again. He turned over to look at the two adult aliens. “Put everything on the belt. Our business here is done.”</p><p>They rang the groceries first, which Pleakley paid for with the cash Nani had given him with that specific purpose in mind. However, when Cobra tried to approach the gift bag, Lilo stopped him with a dramatic “No!”.</p><p>“Why not?” Pleakley asked.</p><p>“Because!” She thought a moment “It’s a surprise gift, so Nani can’t suspect you knew all this time!” the girl grinned, showing her teeth.</p><p>The adults looked at each other. Well, that was weird, but it was Lilo they were talking about. Cobra asked the cashier if Lilo could take the bag herself without revealing its contents. and the cashier gladly agreed to it. She even helped Lilo wrap the items while Cobra, Jumba, and Pleakley awkwardly tried to face the other way.</p><p>Of course, Jumba tried to cheat, but Stitch was there to hiss at him every time.</p><p>When Lilo was finally done and announced that they could turn around, Cobra approached the cashier to pay.</p><p>“Oh, no, no, no, let me get this one,” Pleakley offered. “I have credit cards, but as I really want this to be special, I’m even willing to actually pay for it.”</p><p>The poor cashier blinked as she watched the “woman” take some kind of odd pager from her purse and babble.</p><p>“I suppose two hundred credits would be enough? Although I don’t know how the Plorznak change is here. Oh, do you take FADD intergalactic currency, or shall we use the old Rekazom services alliance path?”</p><p>“Excuse me…?” the cashier asked, tilting her head, completely confused by the alien’s words. Cobra gently pushed Pleakley away from the counter.</p><p>“Don’t you use credits hereeeeee?” the alien trailed off as the agent made his way on his place.</p><p>Pleakley blinked and realized that no, apparently Earthlings didn’t use credits or any of his usual currencies. “Oh, no! That means I’m poor!” he yelped dramatically.</p><p>“Am not understanding why we don’t simply take things,” Jumba commented.</p><p>“Because that’s stealing,” the green alien pointed out.</p><p>“Do not be giving me lessons; Pleakley tried to take goods with incompatible currency.”</p><p>“It was an accident!”</p><p>The aliens were so focused on one another that they almost missed that Cobra had already paid and he, Lilo, and Stitch were already leaving the store. Jumba and Pleakley followed them to the car, and their discussion quickly evolved into what would be the best music to hear on the radio (Stitch and Jumba fought for a metal band while Lilo and Pleakley tried to put on jazz). Cobra looked at the little girl having a good time with her family and felt very proud to had been able to help them when she needed. He liked the weird <em>ohana</em>, and hoped Nani would enjoy the gift. Poor woman deserved it.</p><p>Once they arrived to the Pelekais’ residence, Lilo was dismayed to see her sister’s buggy was already there and David was on the porch, seemingly disoriented.</p><p>“David!” Lilo said, leaving the car. “I told you to distract Nani all evening!”</p><p>“I tried,” the surfer sighed “But as soon as the tour was over, she was determined to came back home to check on you. I proposed all kinds of things to her, but I wasn’t able to make her…”</p><p>“Make me what?” a voice came from behind them. Nani was leaning out the window, watching them with an accusatory glare. David and Lilo turned to her with a helpless “Nothing!” and tried to smile, but Nani obviously wasn’t buying it.</p><p>“Okay, that’s it.” The woman went inside the house, only to appear in the door seconds later. “You’re going to tell me what’s happening here, and you’re going to tell me NOW.”</p><p>David and Lilo looked at each other. There was no way to save this one.</p><p>“All right…” The girl accepted her defeat. “But don’t get too upset.”</p><p>“I’m not making that promise,” Nani replied, putting her hands on her hips.</p><p>However, her anger was replaced by confusion when she realized Cobra’s car was the one in the street and the agent was there. Jumba, Pleakley, and Stitch also left the vehicle, and Nani didn’t know if she should feel relieved or terrified to see so many people involved.</p><p>“But first,” Lilo added, “we have to save the groceries.”</p><p>Waiting for everything to be put in its place, Nani was still debating what exactly she should expect next. Pleakley and Jumba sat on the sofa, Cobra was in the kitchen putting the food on the fridge alongside Lilo, and Stitch was weirdly protective of a single bag that he didn’t let anyone get close to. David had left because the situation was becoming very awkward, and, at that point, Nani wished she could leave too.</p><p>“Well?” she asked her little sister when she entered the living room.</p><p>“So, I was thinking…” Lilo explained, putting her arms behind her and swaying on her feet. “You know there’s a Mother’s Day and a Father’s Day…”</p><p>“Yes?”</p><p>“Well, we can’t celebrate that anymore…”</p><p>“Oh, baby…” Nani gasped. She felt bad now. Maybe she was being too harsh with her little sister for no reason. Nani tried to approach Lilo to hug her, but the little girl stopped her with a firm hand gesture.</p><p>“Let me finish!” Lilo insisted. “So people celebrate those because mothers and fathers care for families. But there’s more people that care for families and aren’t mothers or fathers. And I’ve been thinking you care for us a lot and you don’t get a day for yourself. So I made a Big Sister’s Day!”</p><p>“Lilo, that’s so sweet!” Nani cooed. No one could stop her from hugging her little sister now. “Thank you!”</p><p>“Let me go; you’re crushing me!” Lilo protested. But she began to giggle when Nani started tickling her tummy. After a bit, she gave her little sister a kiss on the forehead and both smiled softly to each other.</p><p>“Oh, but you have to see the most important part!” Lilo gasped, and she ran to the mysterious bag next to Stitch. Taking out a wrapped box with a big “NANI” on the side, she offered the present to her big sister “Everyone helped me get a gift for you.”</p><p>“Sometimes I wonder who you are and what you did with my little sister,” Nani joked, opening the box. Whatever Nani could have imagined, it wasn’t this.</p><p>The box contained several items, each one crazier than the last. There was a plush doll of a girl with a white dress and raffia hair carefully styled in two long black braids. A plain square of polished wood. Something that looked like a waxed nylon rope. And, hidden under all that, a measuring tape and a single covered button.</p><p>“Is this a horse rein…?” Nani asked, dumbfounded, as she took the rope from the box. She had TONS of questions, but seeing Lilo and Stitch looking at her with a big, proud grin, Nani swallowed her words and put on an awkward smile “I mean, uh… this is all really nice.”</p><p>“Now we have to put everything together,” her little sister stated, and Nani honestly didn’t know what that meant. “You can’t use a horse rein; we don’t have a horse,” the girl added.</p><p>Nani was still trying to articulate some answer when Lilo decided she wasn’t going to wait. The girl nodded at Stitch, and he got the hint that it was now his turn.</p><p>With a quick movement, the alien took the doll and hastily tore all her hair apart, keeping it and throwing the rest of the body behind him. Taking the rein from Nani’s hands, Stitch cut a fragment with his jaws and braided the dark hair several times until he could tie it properly with the rein. The next step involved the piece of wood, which the experiment put on one of his claws and rotated over itself, using another of his claws to carve it like an incredibly precise chisel. The result was a little figure of a twisted tongue, similar in its basic form to a fish hook.</p><p>Finally, Stitch took the measuring tape and folded it over itself, over and over, until it resembled a gift ribbon and bow, and used the button (and his own saliva) to secure it. He put his creation together and the ribbon over it.</p><p>“<em>Ta-da</em>!” Stitch grinned as he presented his work to the still-baffled Nani, who could only blink repeatedly.</p><p>In front of her was a necklace composed mostly of hair and tied with nylon, with the wooden tongue hanging on the center. The bow, which had been added for dramatic effect, fell to the side by itself. Nani realized Lilo was looking at her expectantly, and it still took her a second to recognize what was so familiar about the necklace.</p><p>“A <em>lei niho palaoa</em>?” the woman asked, finally understanding.</p><p>“Yep,” Lilo replied, satisfied. “I was going to use my own hair to make it, but I thought you wouldn’t like that. And we couldn’t find a real whale tooth to make the pendant either, but this one is extra special because Stitch carved it.”</p><p>“You both are full of surprises,” Nani giggled taking the necklace. Okay, it wasn’t precisely a conventional gift, but it was still part of their culture and Lilo had put so much thought into how to do it for her. “But why did you make me a <em>lei niho palaoa</em>?”</p><p>“Because <em>ali’i</em> chiefs wore it as a symbol of authority and respect,” Lilo pointed out, like it was obvious.</p><p>“Yes, I know, but I’m not a chief.”</p><p>“But you could have more respect. You work so much and your boss never gives you credit,” the girl added, looking at the floor. “So Stitch and I thought if we made you a <em>lei niho palaoa</em>, it would help you to get a better job where everyone respects you, and then you won’t have to work so much and you’ll be happier.”</p><p>Nani found herself smiling as her eyes filled with tears. She didn’t even know what to say. Kneeling next to her sister, Nani pressed the necklace to her chest and inclined over, pressing her forehead against Lilo’s.</p><p>“It’s perfect.” She smiled, making Lilo happy “Thank you.”</p><p>Everyone stared at the sweet moment for a solid minute. Nani even took Stitch between her arms to hug him too. The silence, however, was making one person in the room really nervous.</p><p>“What about the other ones? Aren’t you going to give them?” Pleakley jumped in, clearly having tried to silence that particular question for a while.</p><p>“Shhh, little girl said it was secret!” Jumba scolded him. Pleakley put his hands over his mouth.</p><p>“Yeah, it was a secret,” Lilo said, turning to them. “But not for her. For you!” she opened her arms wide, and Cobra, Jumba, and Pleakley looked at her with surprise. “Today is also Guardian’s Day!”</p><p>“Guardian’s Day?” Cobra asked, baffled under his shades. There were not many people that could surprise him, but Lilo surely always found a way.</p><p>“<em>Ih!</em>” Stitch also added happily as he took another present from the bag and brought it closer to the sofa. This one had “PLEAKLEY” written on the side, and by the time the green alien noticed it was being offered to him, he was almost crying.</p><p>“You bought me a… a…” Pleakley sobbed, trying his best not to have a meltdown yet. After carefully taking the wrappings of the present, he found a little cardboard box and his lips trembled before he started wailing; “...I don’t know what this is, but it’s beauti-i-i-fuuuul!”</p><p>“No, silly, the gift is what is inside,” Lilo pointed out.</p><p>“Oh?” Pleakley stopped crying immediately to open the box, which contained a few seeds.</p><p>“See, you have a garden,” the girl explained with a smile. “And you have all those vegetables and stuff, and that’s okay, but a little boring. So I bought you the best plant on Earth! A Venus flytrap.”</p><p>“A what?” Pleakley blinked, not recognizing the name.</p><p>“It’s a plant that eats flies! It looks like a mouth, and when flies are near… SNAP!” Lilo yelled, scaring Pleakley. “It eats them!”</p><p>“Fascinating,” the green alien commented, studying the seeds with a smile. It was then Lilo noticed that Jumba was trying to scurry away when no one was looking, but his big size worked against him.</p><p>“Where are you going?” the girl asked him, making the purple alien curse under his breath.</p><p>“Eeeeeh, having evil work to do. Boom-boom formula. Very dangerous; do not follow!” Jumba lied. The truth was he knew he was next, and the simple idea that Lilo had bought him a present because she considered him some kind of familial figure was making Jumba go soft. The scientist was still trying to convince himself he was not affected by it.</p><p>“But I have something for you, too,” Lilo insisted, and Jumba had no other choice but to face her. Stitch offered him a present with “JUMBA” on the side with a big grin, and the big alien could only answer by gulping and clumsily tearing the wrapping from it.</p><p>“Wha…” Jumba looked at the two pairs of diving goggles in his hands “What is this?”</p><p>“Goggles! I know you have problems finding things that fit your eyes and protect them when you are doing dangerous stuff,” Lilo said “And the alien ones broke. So you can put both of these over your eyes and they’ll be safe.”</p><p>“I, uh…” Jumba muttered, looking everywhere. “...maybe evil genius can use these, yes.”</p><p>The scientist was weirdly squishing his eyes shut, as he was noticing a wet reaction in them that he was too proud to acknowledge. As stoic as Jumba was acting (or doing his best to), the truth was he was feeling his heart melt with the love his adoptive niece was showing him. On the sofa, Pleakley (who had not such qualms about his pride whatsoever) was having a meltdown over his own present.</p><p>“I also got you something,” Lilo announced then, looking at Cobra. The agent tensed his shoulders. How could anyone stay professional in these circumstances? Lilo smiled at him. “I know you’re not part of our <em>ohana</em>. But it’s Guardian’s Day, and you helped us so much. You’re like my awesome secret agent uncle.”</p><p>Cobra had to keep his shades on because he knew if he let anyone see his eyes now, they would notice they were getting watery. It was not only that Lilo had bothered to get him a present, but the fact that the room already had such an emotional feeling. Stitch offered him his gift (marked with “BUBBLES” on the side), and the agent opened it carefully, finding a fork inside.</p><p>“It’s a silver fork,” Lilo explained “Your job is very dangerous, and someday you might fight a werewolf. I know they say you have to use silver bullets, but I couldn’t find any.” She paused a moment. “You may not be able to kill the werewolf, but it will stop them long enough so you can run.”</p><p>The agent looked at Lilo, who seemed incredibly proud of herself for having figured out how to incapacitate a werewolf. He had to take a deep breath before continuing, because that was a real challenge to his composure.</p><p>“Lilo, I will have it with me all the time,” Cobra said with a soft smile. “Thank you.”</p><p>He tried to turn over to leave before anyone could notice his voice was cracking slightly, but he was stopped by Lilo hugging his leg. Smiling, Cobra took his glasses off and knelt to her height to return the gesture. The agent only fully realized what was happening when he noticed Pleakley had added himself to the hug too, but one glare from Cobra was enough for the green alien to decide maybe he should step back.</p><p>Nani was having fun looking at everyone’s reaction. Jumba had left as soon as no one was looking, locking himself in the bedroom he shared with Pleakley because he couldn’t keep himself from crying and was too proud to admit it. Pleakley was being overly dramatic about it all, despite the good chance that he wouldn’t be even able to grow the flytraps (vegetables and fruits were good in the alien’s hands. Other kind of flowers? Pleakley didn’t manage to keep a single one alive). Cobra was putting on his shades again, coughing awkwardly so as not to give away how touched he was. And both Lilo and Stitch were grinning widely, so happy their idea had been a success. Nani couldn’t help but smile too.</p><p>Her little sister could be eccentric, stubborn, and a little mischievous. But Lilo was also creative, clever, and sweet, and Nani was incredibly proud of her.</p><p>“Well, this calls for a good dinner,” the woman announced, clapping her hands. She looked at the agent; “Would you like to join us?"</p><p>“I have work that must be done,” Cobra replied. But when he glared down, he found the begging eyes of Lilo, and his confidence crumbled. “...But I’m sure I could stay for dinner.”</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>A Lei niho palaoa is a Hawaiian neck ornament traditionally worn by aliʻi (chiefs) of both sexes. The 19th century examples are most commonly made of a whale tooth carved into a hook-shape suspended by plaited human hair. </p><p>https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lei_niho_palaoa</p><p>Tantalog Notes:<br/>- Ih: Yes<br/>- Naga: No<br/>- Miki miki!: Gimme, gimme!<br/>- Choota: Darn</p></blockquote></div></div>
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